HARRISONBURG, Va. – The top-ranked James Madison football team hits the road for the first time in the 2020-21 season, as it travels to Elon to open up Colonial Athletic Association play on Saturday, March 6.
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Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Rhodes Stadium. The game will be streamed on FloFootball and can be heard on the JMU Glo Fiber Broadcast Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m.
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The 2020-21 JMU football season is presented by CarMax.
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JMU leads the series 7-1, which includes a 3-0 mark all-time at Rhodes Stadium.
The Dukes have outscored Elon by an average of 41.75 to 14.25 (334-114) and has tallied more than 50 points on three occasions. In three trips to Elon, JMU has only conceded 13 total points.
Elon's lone victory came back on Oct. 6, 2018 - a 27-24 win in Harrisonburg - when Curt Cignetti was head coach for the Phoenix.
The two will also end the regular season at Bridgeforth Stadium on April 10.
 BACK AT #1 IN NATIONAL POLLS
Following a wild week two, in which four top-10 teams lost, including the #1 and #3 squads, JMU assumed the top slot in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
It's the first time since the final regular season poll of 2017 that JMU has been ranked #1.
JMU was ranked #1 from the final 2016 poll all throughout the 2017 season until the final poll following the national championship.
The Dukes are one of two CAA teams in the top five, as Villanova, which opens the season this week, is #5. Weber State is ranked second, Northern Iowa is third and North Dakota is fourth.
Defending champion North Dakota State dropped five spots to sixth.
 THREE HONORED AS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
JMU won all four CAA Football weekly awards following its 36-16 win vs. Robert Morris.
Kris Thornton was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week after making five catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, reaching the endzone for the second straight week.
MJ Hampton was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week after tying his career high with seven tackles, to go with 1.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Harry O'Kelly averaged 48.5 yards per punt, pinning RMU inside the 20 all four times, including once and the one and another at the two to garner Special Teams Player of the Week.
Antwane Wells Jr. was Rookie of the Week after recording two catches for 29 yards and his first career touchdown.
 UP NEXT
JMU returns home on Saturday, March 13 to host William & Mary for the first of two matchups this spring. The teams will kick off at 4 p.m. from Bridgeforth Stadium.
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